Nico and Will's Happily Ever After, Maybe
by somethingcleverandfunny
Summary: Percy Jackson continuation in which the war with Gaia is over and Nico is struggling with Will feelings.
1. Finally Realized

The war with Gaia had ended three months ago, and there was still no word from Leo Valdez, though Nico knew that he wasn't dead. He would have been able to feel it if he were; he could always feel it when someone died, it was a son of Hades perk. Still, everyone was beginning to get suspicious of Nico's claims, but he understood. It's hard to keep up your faith when there is no proof to back it up.

Asides from the Leo issue, things were going okay. They had started rebuilding the camp and it was going pretty well. Nico had even redone the Hades cabin because it was just to dark and gloomy in that place. He'd replaced the coffin beds with actual bunk beds, though there was only one of him, so there wasn't really any need for the eleven other beds. He'd also changed up the color scheme a little; it wasn't all black anymore. Nico had added a few touches of grey and even some green to accent the ancient greek fire. He had thought very hard about the cabin, and he was actually quite pleased with it.

Today, Nico was going to see Will. He'd been avoiding him ever since someone had spilled to Will about Nico's feelings. Nico still had feelings for Percy, of course he did. Percy was the first person that Nico ever loved, and he couldn't just forget him completely. However, the feelings were starting to fade, they were almost just a memory now. And there was the whole spilling of feelings and telling that he was over it thing. His feelings for Will, however, were just growing stronger every day. His honey blonde hair and his bright blue eyes were just getting more and more intense. Just thinking about Will made Nico tremble with nerves and excitement. _Gods, _Nico thought, _what is wrong with me?_ Nico shook his head, causing his long black hair to tangle uncontrollably.

Nico brushed his hair back down onto his forehead and walked out of his cabin. It was a surprisingly pretty day, which used to make Nico grumpy. It just reminded Nico of his sister Bianca, as she loved the sun and everything that came with it. Bianca was always a shining light in the sea of depression that was Nico's confusing life. Now, the sun just made Nico think of Will's lemony hair and wonderful all year around tan. Nico sighed with content. Man, something was seriously wrong with that boy.

"And what's make you so happy and sighish today?" Someone behind Nico said.

Nico turned around to see Will shining before him and literally felt weak at the knees. His stomach dropped, his heart rate quickened, and that's when he knew that he was hopelessly in love with the man standing before him.


	2. Is it a date?

"Umm," Nico stuttered, "I…just..Bianca"

Nico's brain couldn't form actual words when he was around Will; he'd had this problem before. It always made Nico feel like a complete idiot, which did not help all of his self esteem issues.

"Haha." Will laughed, "Do I really make you that nervous?"

"WHAT?!" Nico exclaimed incredulously. He could not believe that Will was being so forward with him. _What is wrong with this guy? _Nico thought to himself.

"Relax, Nico," Will said, "I'm just messing with you, jeez."

Nico felt his face burn. Couldn't he ever do anything right? He looked at his feet which were covered in black converse that matched his black pants and black t shirt. He had a very versatile wardrobe. Will, on the other hard, was wearing khaki shorts that showed off his tan, muscular legs with flip-flops and a bright blue V-neck shirt that made his eyes look even bluer.

"O-Okay," Nico muttered, "Did you want something Will?"

"Yeah!" Will said over enthusiastically, "I was wondering if you wanted to, like, I don't know, hang out today? I mean after the daily activities and all. If you wanted to. We could just not…" Will looked up at Nico expectantly. Glancing up, Nico saw that Will was blushing too. Probably just as bad as Nico, maybe even worse.

_Oh my gods, _Nico thought, _is it possible that he could like me too? Is that even possible?_ Nico shook his head again, he had to get these thoughts out of his head. There is no way they're accurate anyway.

"Oh, so, you don't want to hang out?" Will asked, thinking that Nico's head shake was supposed to be a no.

"No! Wait, Yes? That's not what I meant. Sure, we can hang out. That'd be okay."Nico rambled. What was Nico thinking? This was definitely not going to end well.

"Okay!" Will exclaimed. _Why is he always so damn happy?_ Nico thought. "Well, I get out of archery at 5:00 and that's two hours before dinner at the pavilion. Do you want to hang out then? Or are you doing, um, Hades cabin stuff?"

"Well," Nico said, "I don't really have any Hades cabin stuff to do. I kind of get to do whatever I want with there just being one of me. So, yeah, five works."

"Okay!" Will practically screamed, "Um, I'll meet you by my cabin? Is that okay with you? I mean we could meet somewhere else….but I have to go to my cabin anyways."

"No, No!" Nico was getting flustered again, "It's cool. I'll see you at your cabin at five?"

"Yeah. Okay." Will smiled. His teeth literally sparkled in the sun light. _Why is he so fucking pretty?_ Nico screamed to himself. Could the man not have one bad flaw for Nico to focus on? Tonight was going to be the hardest thing that Nico had ever done in his entire life.

"Well, I have to get to the lake; it's time for canoeing. And I am the head of the cabin and all. It'd be bad for me to be late. So, I'll see you tonight. Bye, Nico." Will said it like it was the hardest thing in the world for him to turn away from Nico.

"Bye, Will." Nico hollered to Will as he ran toward the glimmering lake in the distance.


	3. You are definitely not Will

It was five o'clock and Nico was waiting by the Apollo cabin for Will. He was starting to get a little anxious because, well, he looked like a complete idiot just chilling in front of the Apollo cabin. He did NOT fit in at all; he was dressed in all black, the same outfit as earlier when he'd spoken to Will, and the cabin was bright shimmering gold. It literally looked like the sun.

_Okay, _Nico thought, _I'm leaving. There is noway that he's coming. It was probably some like of practical joke. _

Nico turned to leave when he heard someone holler "Hey!" from behind him. Nico turned to see the one and only Percy Jackson standing before him, all sea green eyes and messy black hair that Nico used to die for. Strangely, thought, Percy just didn't have the same effect on him anymore.

"Hi, Percy, what's up?" Nico muttered, looking at the ground. Things had been a little tense between the two of them since their last conversation. Percy couldn't seem to get over not being Nico's type.

"Well," Percy stammered. "I just, Nico, Well…"

"Oh, for the love of the gods, just spit it out, Percy!" Nico was aggravated already and Percy's sudden shyness wasn't helping at all.

"Zeus Almighty, Nico, I didn't mean to bother you. I was just, well, I just can't get over it. How am I not you type anymore?"

"Sorry, Percy," Nico apologized for his rudeness. "I've just been having a bad day. That's all. I mean, I don't think that its that you're not my type anymore. I think that it was that you weren't my type to begin with and I'm just now starting to see it."

"Oh, well, why? What's wrong with me? Is it because I'm not tan and blonde and blue eyed like a certain Apollo boy." Percy joked, gesturing at the cabin behind Nico.

Nico felt his face redden. This was not going as well as he had hoped, which was saying something because Nico hadn't expected it to go well anyways.

Percy laughed in response and gave Nico a light hit on the shoulder.

"I'm just messing with you man. It's alright, I guess. I'm with Annabeth anyways, so we had no hope of ever working." Percy laughed at his own joke.

"Whatever Percy," Nico said, laughing. "Was there anything else you wanted other than to humiliate me again?"

"Humiliate you? What? I didn't mean to do that." Percy said. " But yeah, I came because Will wanted me to tell you that he was running a little late with archery practice and that he should be here soon. Oh, look! Speak of Hades and he shall come."

"Hey, Percy!" Will shouted. "Hey, Nico." At the sound of Nico's name, which was spoken an octagon deeper than Percy's, he turned to see Will strutting toward them with his bow and arrows thrown over his back.

"And I was just leaving, see you around Will. Nico." Percy hustled away from the googlie eye contest that was happening between Will and Nico.

"Hey, Will." Nico stuttered, still refusing to blink.

"Um, sorry to keep you waiting, but practice ran long and, yeah, I tried to get over here as quickly as possible." Will apologized.

"It's okay." Nico responded a little to quickly. "You didn't really keep me waiting that long, and besides I had the wonderful company of Percy Jackson to keep me entertained."

"Yeah, he's something. Isn't he?" Will said. Nico knew that he didn't mean it THAT way, but a wave a jealousy still threatened to overtake him.

Noticing Nico's discomfort and probably knowing about the spilling of feelings, Will jumped to change the subject.

"So, are you ready? I've just got to drop these off at my bunk. I'll be right back. I mean, I'd invite you in, but I don't know how all my brothers and sisters would take it. You're kind of scary looking. Anyways, be right back!" Will rambled, nerves overtaking his ability to think clearly.

When Will had taken sufficiently long enough to out his two items up, he came back out. Nico, already starting to get sunburned, and Will made there way toward the woods, an unspoken agreement that that would be the best place to go passing between them.


	4. It's HUGE!

The woods were on the back left corner of the camp, between the beach and the cabins. Over the years, it had been stocked with various monsters, like giant scorpions, vicious hellhounds, and even a few hydras. That is not, however, the reason that Will and Nico chose it for their secret rendezvous. Was is secret? Nico wasn't really sure; he hadn't told anyone, but Will didn't seem to mind sharing the news. _What does it matter if it__'__s a secret, _Nico thought, _It__'__s not like it__'__s a date or anything. _

He laughed at his own stupidity and Will turned to look at him.

"And what, might I ask, is so very funny, Mr. Di Angelo?" He questioned.

Nico turned a scarlet red, his face burning more than it already was from the sunburn.

"I, um, nothing. It's just something stupid that I thought." Nico admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. Noticing what he was doing, he dropped his hand; this was his tell tale sign that he was nervous and he normally made a conscious effort not to do it. There is nothing normal about this scenario though, and Nico was glaringly aware of it.

"Would you care to share your hilarious thought with the other members of this excursion?" Will was mocking his nervousness, probably in an attempt to cover up his tell tale sign: over enthusiasm.

"No, Will, I would not care to share anything with you, especially if you keep acting like a Hydra spewed fire all over your Cocoa Puffs this morning." Nico raised his voice.

They had reached the forest now, so it was hard to tell, but Will seemed to blush a bright red over his beach boy tan. Nico gave himself a mental high five and tried not to think about the fact that he just indirectly admitted to knowing Will's favorite breakfast cereal. There was no way that Nico knew that because he obviously did NOT watch Will eat breakfast every morning. Or lunch….or supper. He definitely hadn't memorized that Will ate one thing at a time and always, no matter what, sat on the right end of the Apollo table, closest to the flames. _Gods, _Nico though, _I have a major problem._

They continued into the forest in silence, neither one sure about what to say after that conversation. Talk about a terrible icebreaker. They'd agreed, without communication, that heading towards Zeus's Fist was the way to go. Walking in the woods brought back so many memories for Nico, which he made an effort to voice out loud for Will.

"You know, this reminds me of the time, right after I came to camp, when the cabins all teamed up to go against the Hunters of Artemis. That was a terrible game for me because I didn't know what side to be on. I didn't know my godly parent yet, and Bianca, my sister, you remember Bianca? Well, she was on the other team with the Hunters. I mean, I obviously couldn't help the hunters, seeing as they're all girls, but I just…" Nico trailed off when he noticed Will staring at him, puzzled.

"That's the first time you've ever spoken to me about your sister. In fact, I don't think you ever mentioned her to anyone that wasn't Percy Jackson. And that was just to rub it in his face because he couldn't save her." Will still looked slightly stunned.

"Yeah, well-" Nico was cut off by a gigantic scuttling noise.

"What is that?" He asked Will, who looked even more frightened than before.

"Y-yes, well, I believe that to be a scorpion, my dear Nico." Will stammered, his jaw shaking.

The noise was getting closer and the two boys had done nothing to get away from it or to prepare for an attack.

"You didn't bring your sword did you, Will?" Nico already knew the answer.

"No, I don't usually bring my sword on evening strolls. Why? Did you?"

"No." Nico replied shortly.

Then, between two trees, scuttled out the biggest scorpion they'd ever seen. _The thing must have grown three times it__'__s size since we hunted them,_ Nico thought. And indeed it had. The scorpion was not tall enough that Nico could walk under it, if he ducked his head, and so long that it was practically the size of a modern house.

Will and Nico glanced at each other, the telepathic connection sparking in their brains. Together, at the top of their lungs, they screamed "RUN!" and took off through the woods.


	5. Love's in the air,or maybe monster blood

Nico and Will raced toward the beach, heading away from the cabins and most of the other campers. They hadn't had much time to think about where to go besides away from the giant demigod eating scorpion.

The scorpion was scuttling viciously behind them, foaming at the mouth and making terrifying clicking noises. Nico, not yet being fully recovered from the Gaia war, was huffing and puffing like a ninety year old man on an oxygen tank and falling a little behind Will.

Will, his shirt flapping up in the wind, exposing the small of his immensely tan, muscled back, noticed Nico struggling and sighed.

"I told you to stay in the infirmary!" Will yelled between breaths. He grabbed Nico's hand, which did not help Nico's thundering heart, and ran even faster. He was practically dragging Nico behind him.

"Slow- down- Will!" Nico huffed, he'd never felt so out of shape in his entire life. His legs were wobbling, his heart was going to explode out of his chest, and he couldn't have forced oxygen into his lungs to save his life.

Will, as if hearing Nico's silent prayer, stopped suddenly. They'd reached the beach, but the scorpion didn't seem to mind the sandy terrain. If it did, it didn't show it.

Will and Nico backed as far away from the woods as possible, their shoes getting wet in the ocean.

"What are we going to do? This thing will kill us before we can get help!" Will screamed, terrified.

"I don't know about you, but I think I know where to find some help." With that, Nico walked back toward the woods just as the beast exploded from the trees. Literally, exploded, trees went flying at the two men.

"Nico. What are you-" Will was cut off when Nico raised both of his hands from his sides and closed his eyes. _Please don__'__t pass out, please don__'__t pass out, _Nico thought, already feeling himself slipping into darkness.

Slowly at first, skeletal warriors began clawing their way to the surface of the earth. They were all wearing some kind of military uniform- ancient, medieval, modern- and were armed with an assortment of weapons. They were beginning to come more steadily now, with almost forty already out and attacking the scorpion. Will, shocked, stood there.

Suddenly, Nico collapsed. Terror exploded through Will's body and he shot forward to catch him.

Nico was barely conscious, but holding on. The warriors had stopped climbing from the earth, though it didn't really matter anymore because there were plenty to overcome the scorpion.

Will watched as the warriors slashed and hacked, stabbed and cut, shot and hit. They were practically invincible, until the scorpion noticed that he could use his wrecking ball of a tail and reduce them to a pile of inanimate bones. Will, cradling the barely alive Nico, watched as the scorpion blew the entire army of undead to smithereens.

"Uhhmhhmh" Nico groaned, his eyes fluttering open. "Will, I think I'm in love with you…" He stated extremely clearly for someone only half lucid. With that, Nico's head slumped backwards and his eyes closed for good. Thankfully, for the time being, he was breathing.

The scorpion clicked excitedly and Will looked up to see that all of the warriors were now gone, just a pile of bones remaining from where they'd been. Will gulped.

The scorpion seemed to know that Nico was the cause of the annoying skeletal people, eyeing him with malice.

"Oh, no you don't" Will muttered to himself, grabbing a jagged bone and standing up. "Not my Nico."

The scorpion noticed Will and they stood there, sizing each other up.

Finally, after what seemed like ages, the scorpion lunged at Will with it's pinchers snapping. Will rolled away, coming up on his knee, just like Percy had shown him in Sword Fighting Class. He slashed at the scorpion, cutting a deep gash into it's side with his bone.

The monster roared and rose up on it's hind legs, causing it to tower over the 6'0 tall boy. It shifted it's body so that it was directly over Will and dropped, trying to crush him. Will, on instinct, dropped with his face in the sand and his arms over his head, bone sword pointed up. The scorpion landed directly on the sword, successfully impaling itself.

Blood rained from the corpse about Will, covering him in monster goop and ash when it vanished, being sent back to Tartarus with all the other monsters.

"Gross!" Will exclaimed, standing up. "This is why I do archery, not messy monster fighting."

That's when he remember Nico on the ground and rushed as quickly as he could to the other boy. Thankfully, he was still breathing and his pulse was strong.

Will, noticing that he could not carry Nico, prayed to his father for assistance; he prayed that Apollo would help Nico enough so that he could walk back to the infirmary. Thankfully, Apollo was happy at the moment because, as soon as Will was done with his prayer, Nico's eyes fluttered open and he immediately blushed a dark crimson color. _Oh gods, _Nico thought, _I did not just tell Will I loved him. Please tell me that I didn't do that. _

"Hey, lover boy. Glad you could join us." Will teased, genuine tears of relief in his eyes.

"Ugghhh!" Nico groaned, covering his face with his hands.

Will laughed. "It's okay, Nico." He said, smiling. "Would it make you feel better if I told you that i loved you too? Because I do. I love you, Nico Di Angelo, and I always have."


	6. Will he survive?

Nico's eyes widened in shock. _Did he just say what I think he said? _He thought.

"Yes," Will stated, reading the question in Nico's eyes. "I just said what you think I said."

Slowly, and then with more haste, Nico's mouth joined his eyes, widening until he was full on grinning. Will grinned back at him, his teeth sparkling in the light of the setting sun.

"Now, come on, Lover Boy. We have to get you back to the camp's infirmary."

"No, I'm fine! You know that I hate the infirmary. Willll!" Nico pouted.

"Oh, you're fine? Okay. Then stand up." Will challenged, a smug look forming on his face when Nico couldn't even make it to a sitting position by himself.

Sighing, Will grabbed Nico under the arms and hauled him into a standing position. Nico made no protest, other than to groan in pain.

Slowly, they began walking back to the camp, deciding to take the beach route and avoid any other surprisingly large monsters. After what seemed like ages of torture and struggle, they made it to the camp.

"Help!" Will called, though not very loudly because he was out of breath from half carrying Nico all the way back. The boy had practically laid on Will, though Will wouldn't say that he minded very much, and dragged his feet in the sand.

Everyone was filling into the dinner pavilion, but the Hermes cabin was close enough to hear the shouts of the half exhausted boy. Conner Stoll took half of the cabin to help Nico and Will which Travis went to get Chiron and the Apollo healers.

"Guys! What happened to you?" Conner asked, running up and trying to take the now unconscious Nico from Will. Will, clinging to Nico's limp body, shook his head to tell Conner to back off. No one was separating the two of them at this point.

"Oookayy, man, just sit down. Alright? You look a little, uhh, spent." Conner acquiesced. He threw his hands up and backed away as Will nodded and fell, literally, onto the ground. The other Hermes campers murmured to each other as Will, still clinging to Nico, laid on the ground and pressed himself into the younger man beside him.

Somewhere toward the dinner pavilion, Will could hear horses hooves thundering toward the beach.

"Chiron!" Conner shouted. He pushed some of the other campers out of the way as Chiron galloped nearer. Will, making a conscious effort, removed himself from Nico, resolving to take his hand instead.

"Oh my!" Chiron exclaimed when he saw the spectacle in front of him. "Will, my poor boy, what happened to you?"

Will didn't speak, knowing that if he did it would take much longer for them to get Nico to the infirmary that it already had. Chiron, noticing Will's reluctance, motioned for one of the other campers to help hoist Nico onto his back and gestured for Will to climb on as well. Letting go of Nico for the first time since the battle, Will grimaced and climbed, with help, onto Chiron. He immediately retook Nico's hand, pulling the boy back on him in an attempt to make the trip more safe for Nico. Chiron took off toward the awaiting medics as Will relaxed for the first time since the battle.

Once in the infirmary, Nico and Will were swarmed by Apollo medics. They were the only two patients there because everyone from the Gaia war had already healed or not healed. Will didn't like to think about all of the patients that he didn't heal, focusing instead on the one that he was sure would be okay, Nico. Well, sure that he'd be okay up until about a few hours ago. Now, Will wasn't sure and he did not like it one bit. He couldn't see Nico because they'd rolled his bed away, standard procedure when the people in the infirmary are close, and he couldn't stop worrying about him. There was a pit in his stomach and his heart was still racing. He was frantic and he told Michael as much.

"Where is Nico? Is he okay? Please! Someone just tell me what's going on!" Will shouted to the people bustling around.

Savannah, his younger sister, walked up to him. Will had always liked Savannah, she was quiet and sweeter than anyone else he knew. She'd clung to him ever since arriving at camp a month ago and he hadn't minded at all.

"Will, you know that you can't see Nico. Thats how it has to be. Now please lay back and let the good medics work or else you'll never get out of here." She reasoned with him. Looking at her, he decided that she was right and laid back in the bed, letting the crowd of medics attack him with all of their random devices. Signing, he got comfortable on the lumpy mattress and closed his eyes, knowing that he was going to be here for a while.


	7. You are a hero

When Nico awoke, he knew exactly where he was; he was in the infirmary, the same room that Will had placed him in after his episode during the Gaia war. _Oh gods, _Nico thought, _where is Will? What the Hades happened? _Nico tried to think, the last thing he remembered was running through the forrest with Will and then he, what did he do?

Nico didn't have much more time to think about it because the door opened and Michael Yew walked in. Nico had never been very close to Michael, seeing as he disappeared during the Second Titan War, but since he'd come back while the seven and Nico were in Greece and confirmed what Nico said about him still being alive, seeing him made Nico feel better. It made him feel like it wasn't a complete screw up at everything, but also made him think of Leo Valdez. He couldn't shake that Leo was still alive and it was eating away at him because he hadn't come back yet.

"Hey, Nico. How you feeling, man?" Michael asked, smiling like he was afraid Nico was going to bite his head off. He stood at the foot of the bed, leaning to the footboard with his arms.

"Like a hydra with fifty heads took turns using me as a chew toy. Michael, I can't remember what happened. What happened?" Nico responded, trying to sound nice to ease the boy's nerves.

"Well, from what I gather, you and my brother went for a stroll in the woods and were attacked by a scorpion. You, being the brave idiot that you are, summoned about sixty undead helpers and successfully knocked yourself out." Michael was grinning now, enjoying Nico's discomfort at the story.

"Ookay, and how did I get back here?" Nico asked, might as well get it over with.

"Oh, Will says that he prayed to Apollo to heal you enough to make it back to camp and then the two of you stumbled all the way to the pier before you collapsed again. That's when Chiron came and got you both and rode you over here." Michael finished.

Nico just sat there, trying for he life of him to remember what Michael said happened. He couldn't. All he knew was that he had this feeling of dread, like he'd made a fool of himself, and he couldn't place it. What had he said to Will? What had he _done _that Will had seen? Why couldn't he remember?

There was a knock on the door. Before either of the boy's could respond, the door swung open and Chiron rolled in. He was compacted into his magic wheelchair to fit inside the infirmary and didn't look to happy about it. When he saw that Nico was awake, however, his face lit up in relief. Nico felt a slight blush creep onto his face because no one had ever cared for him the way Chiron did. Chiron never treated him different, not for being Hades son, not for being gay, and not for being alone. Chiron's care was a constant that Nico really appreciated.

"Hey, Chiron." Nico said, letting himself smile a little. He loved that old horse.

"Nico! My boy, how are you? I was so worried about you. Tell me that you are all right." Chiron demanded, rolling up to the side of Nico's bed and taking his hand.

"I, I think I'm okay. Michael hasn't really told me anything, but I feel alright. Just a little beaten and battered. That's all." Nico lied, he felt two sets of eyes glowering at him and laughed a nervous laugh. "So, what is it, Doc? Will I live?" He asked, trying to be funny, Nico was never funny.

"Oh, you'll live. At least the injuries won't kill you. Chiron might though, if you keep lying to him." Michael said, turning and walking out of the room. Nico stared at his back until the door closed and he could no longer see him. He turned to look at Chiron and seeing the look on his face, he knew what question to ask first.

"How long have I been out, Chiron?" he asked, not even trying to avoid the conversation that was about to occur.

"Ah, young Nico, I fear that you may know me to well. You've been out for three days, in which time Will has managed to panic about your well being almost triple that." Chiron acquiesced.

"But why? Could he not just ask someone?" Nico inquired.

"You see, my young hero, no one is allowed to tell him anything. Only family is allowed to inquire about ones health and seeing as he is not your family, they had to turn him away. But, now that you're awake, you can decide if he knows how you are and if you'd like him to visit." Chiron explained, smiling at Nico like he knew the world's most precious secret.

"Well, of course he can come, if he'd like. Though I'm not sure that he will. I mean, why would anyone want to visit me? I'm just a lowly son of Hades." Nico self deprecated.

"Oh Nico, how many times must I tell you that it does not matter who your godly parent is, just what you chose to do with it and you have chosen to do good. Your godly parent may very well be the Lord of the Dead, but that is just part of your DNA. It does not decide if you chose to be good or bad. Look at Luke Castellan, his godly parent was the trusted messenger of Zeus and he still turned evil. You are who you are because of you own merits, and you are a hero, Nico."

Chiron had told Nico this countless times before when Nico would go to him for advice about anything. Chiron was all about Nico forging his own path and decided what to be. He was all about it not mattering that Hades was his father. It was another reason that Nico loved Chiron.

"Yes, I know, Chiron. You've told me this many times before." Nico gave in, choosing to believe that old man for once.

"Yet, it doesn't stick." Chiron tapped the side of Nico's skull lightly. "Anyhow, what I came to talk to you about today is far more important."

Nico waited for the scolding to begin, knowing that he was in for it as soon as Chiron walked into his room.

"You know, as I'm sure, that the forrest are stocked with deadly monsters. You are also aware of the fact that you are not fully recovered from the Gaia War, and you go, unarmed, into the forrest with Will Solace anyways? " Chiron started. "Nico, you must learn that the life of a hero is always a challenging one. You must understand that you cannot wander freely unprotected, especially while injured. You, my boy, are a constant target to monsters and gods. Your life will be one of struggle, and you must learn to always be ready to fight to keep that life. Do you understand?" He seemed finished with his speech, and Nico did understand. He just hadn't thought that Camp Half Blood would be a place that he'd have to fight to survive. He'd always felt safe here.

"Yes, Chiron. I do understand. I'm sorry." Nico apologized quickly.

Chiron let out a hardy laugh. "Don't apologize to me, young one. I am here to teach you and guide you to not make the same mistake again. You, however, may want to apologize to your friends. They're waiting outside for you and Michael has informed me that you are free to go. Just take it easy for a few days." Chiron let go of his hand and patted him on the shoulder before leaving.

Nico took a deep breath and gently stood up; he really was sore. Wobbling toward the door, he stopped and looked at himself in the mirror. He looked like a train wreck with bags under his eyes, his hair disheveled, he clothes wrinkled and dirty, and flecks of dry monster goop on his face. He needed a shower, but first he had to face his friend. _I wonder who__'__s out there waiting for me, _he thought, and then he opened the door and saw them. Percy, Annabeth, Hazel, Frank, Piper, Jason, and Will sitting in the floor against the wall all looking tired and worried out of their minds. When they heard the door, they all looked at Nico and relief bloomed in all fourteen eyes. Nico, however only cared about two of those eyes, the bright blue ones at the end of the line.


	8. What did I say?

All seven demigods jumped to their feet, practically running toward Nico. Nico, however, looked directly at Will, hoping that he'd make it to him first. Nico watched as Will looked up and their eyes connected, sending a jolt of electricity down Nico's spine and making him remember that uneasy feeling that he just couldn't shake.

Suddenly nervous, Nico turned to Jason and pleaded to him with his eyes for a distraction. Jason, being the superhero that he is, noticed Nico's plea and wrapped one arm around his shoulder. He began to push Nico toward the door, away from Will and everyone else.

"Okay, guys, Nico looks pretty beat up and tired. So, how about we have this big reunion tomorrow. I'm just going to help him get tucked in." Jason called over his shoulder, wincing as Nico gabbed him in the ribs for that last part.

They could here the mummers of disapproval as they hurried toward the door. They had almost made it when someone shouted behind them.

"Wait!" It was Will, "I really need to talk to you, Nico. Please."

Jason glanced at Nico and, upon noticing his terrified expression, turned to Will.

"Look, Will. Man, I'm sorry. You're just going to have to wait until tomorrow to talk to Nico."

"Nico, look at me." Will said, everyone in the room turned silent as they heard the unspoken plea in Will's voice. The young man sounded almost like he was about to cry.

Nico sighed and turned to Will, brushing off Jason's arm as he did so.

"Okay, Will. I'm looking at you." Nico said, trying to sound more tired than terrified. Seeing Will made that feeling surge up anew and multiply in magnitude. _Crap, _Nico thought, _why won__'__t this feeling go away? What even caused it? _He looked at Will expectantly, waiting for him to make the first move and trying to gauge what the situation was. Will took a step toward Nico and glanced at everyone around them.

"Could we, umm, talk? Alone?" He asked, rubbing the back of his neck. Nico, melting at seeing flustered Will, nodded his agreement and muttered a quick apology to everyone else. He promised to hang out with each and every one of them tomorrow. Will and Nico walked toward the exit, well, Nico's was more of a limp than a walk. As they retreated, he heard Annabeth behind them saying, "What's going on with those too?" and a murmur of agreed confusion. Nico risked a glance back to see Piper smiling at him, obviously knowing the secret already. _Damn her Aphrodite abilities, _Nico though, turning red and hurrying out the door.

Once outside, the two boys walked in silence toward the Hades cabin, in the opposite direction from the forrest. They made it all the way to the door before Will decided the speak.

"So, umm, are you feeling okay? I mean you were out for a while and, well, are you alright?" He blabbered.

"Yeah. I'm fine." Nico replied lamely, trying to speed the conversation up and find out what was going on.

"oh, good. Well, um, Chiron told us that you were having a little trouble remembering what happened and I was wondering what you did remember?" Will cut to the chase, sensing Nico's reluctance.

"I, I don't know. We were running through the woods and then we made it to the beach and I don't remember anything else." Nico rushed, praying to all of the gods that Will would tell him.

After a moment of awkward silence, he glanced up and saw Will's face. He looked utterly defeated, almost like he was about to cry. Nico was so confused.

"Nothing else really happened, I mean, nothing important. I'm just going to go." Will lied, trying to hold back the tears that threatened to fall.

He turned and practically ran back toward the Apollo cabin. Sighing, Nico took off after him and caught him just before he went into the cabin. He grabbed his arm and spun him back around.

"Will. Please. What happened? I have this feeling that something happened and I just can't remember what it was. Please. Tell me." Nico begged him. Will looked up and Nico and met his eyes.

"You told me that you loved me, Nico. Okay? You told me that you loved me and I told you that I loved you and then I carried you all the way back to camp and worried about you for three days. I spent those days wondering what would happen next. Would we be together? Pretend it never happened? I never thought that you wouldn't even remember it though." Will yelled at Nico, tears finally falling down his face.

Nico was stunned into silence. _Shit! Shit, Shit, Shit, _He thought. Why couldn't he remember this? Had he said anything else to Will? Will LOVED him?

"Will, I, I just don't know what to say. I didn't expect this! I-" Nico was cut off when Will turned and stormed into the Apollo cabin. Nico stood there, stunned and confused, for Zeus knows how long. Finally he turned and headed back to the cabin, noticing the cold on his cheeks for the first time. He did't know when he'd started crying, but he couldn't stop.


	9. The Super Sized Mcshizzle!

It had been two weeks since Nico and Will had talked, yet Nico would feel the aching in his heart like it was yesterday. Every time he saw Will, which was quite often, Nico's eyes watered and his heart fell into his feet. Everyday, for fourteen days, he'd told himself that he was stupid to think it could ever work and that he'd be better today. He told himself that he was moving on, even though he knew in his heart that he wasn't even close to doing that.

His friends were constantly trying to cheer him up, following him everywhere and falling over each other with jokes to try and make Nico smile. He appreciated it, he really did, but the only person he wanted to talk to now, besides Will, was Bianca. She always knew what to say to make him laugh. His big sister was the only family he'd had for so long and, even though he had a new family, he missed her terribly every day. He'd tried multiple times to summon her with all of her favorite foods, but he was still so very weak and she didn't seem to want to talk anyways.

Instead, he found himself spending time with the miracle child, Michael Yew. Nico had known that he'd come back, but he hadn't know how. So, when Michael approached him a week ago and asked him to hangout, Nico had taken it as an opportunity to find out the truth. As it turns out, Michael Yew had died. The fall from the bridge in the Titan War killed him, but when the Doors of Death opened during the Gaia War, he was able to wander back to the world and quickly found his way back to Camp Half Blood. He refused to speak of his time in the Underworld, or maybe he just didn't remember. Who knows? Nico felt that he was in no position to push him to talk about it, seeing as the boy was doing him a favor and being his friend.

He actually found that they go along quite well, talking about nothing important and steering clear of the woods and certain blond haired boys.

Today, he was meant to hangout with Michael after his archery lesson. They were going to go to the Arena and Nico was going to help him with his sword fighting. Michael claimed to be rusty from his time as a apparition. They were meeting at five o'clock at the arena and Nico was currently on his way there.

He despised going anywhere near the other campers because, since word leaked about the very loud argument he and Will had had, everyone stared and whispered when he walked by. It was almost worse than the time they'd all found out he was gay. Nico hurried toward the arena, preferring the inside to hide in the shadows, and kept his head down.

Michael Yew was waiting for him when he arrived.

"Took you long enough, grandpa!" Michael hollered, jokingly.

"Ha-Ha." Nico replied, relieved by the friendly face. "Very funny, Yew. Now, let's get inside so I can kick your ass at sword fighting already."

Michael's face turned serious at the challenge and Nico laughed.

They were halfway through their lesson when it happened. There was the loud sound of wings flapping and the screams of the campers, and the "That's right! The Super Sized Mcshizzle has returned!" yell that gave it away. Nico's heart leapt as he heard the sound of Leo Valdez's voice. He'd known that Leo wasn't dead.

The two boys looked at each other and ran from the arena. Once outside, Nico could see the spectacle, Festus the dragon was descending from the sky with Leo and some other girl on his bronze back. The camp cheered and yelled, smiles on every single one of their faces, excluding the Ares cabin; they only smiled when someone was being maimed.

Festus landed easily, just as Nico made it to the front of the circle. He watched as the other six members of the prophecy crowded Leo. He'd thought it was ridiculous that the Roman side of the group wouldn't leave until Nico was cheered up, but was now glad that they were here for this.

"Everybody! This is Calypso, my annoying girlfriend! Don't worry, you'll hate her. She has tea parties on the beach and complains about you like you're not even there!" Leo yelled to everyone, but, even though he was insulting this Calypso, his voice was filled with admiration for her. This reminded Nico of Will and his heart sank. Shaking his head, he went to greet his long lost crew mate with everyone else.

"What's up man? Long time, no see." Nico practically shouted, as it was far to loud for normal voices.

"Hey, Di Angelo! What's up!" Leo yelled.

He grappled Nico into a hug, which Nico would have normally hated, but not today, and laughed in his ear. Everyone was ecstatic at the new development. Leo Valdez was finally home and he'd definitely made an entrance.


	10. Camp Half Blood Traditions

In honor of Leo, the camp had a coming home party right after dinner. It was just like a regular sing-a-long, but the Apollo cabin changed all of the song lyrics to makes them about "Leo and his fine lass". Nico sat in the corner away from everyone else and hiding in the shadows. He found see Will moving through the people, singing with the songs and having a grand time, but Nico could see a sadness in his eyes. Seeing Will like that broke something inside that Nico didn't know could be broken, and he decided to try and talk to him.

"Hey, Will!" He called as the boy passed close by. Will's head jerked toward Nico, a smile on his face, but, when he saw who was calling, it fell.

"Oh, hi." Will said unenthusiastically. Nico could tell that this was not going to be easy.

Now, Nico had never been one to make rash decisions or to act on impulses. He hardly ever acted at all, excluding Percy. So, he couldn't quite explain what happened next, just that he was very glad that he did it.

Will had turned to walk away when Nico grabbed his arm. He spun Will around and took hold of his face with both of his hands, a gently hand on each cheek. Then, with no warning or time to check for bad breath, Nico kissed Will. It was intended to be just a gently peck, but Nico was hungry. He pulled Will toward him and wrapped an arm around his waist. Will was deadly still until he wasn't anymore. He wrapped his arm back around Nico and deepened the kiss. Their lips broke apart and they looked into each other's eyes. That's when Nico noticed that the entire room had gone quiet.

"Well, It's about time!" Clarisse shouted from the back, everyone laughed, remembering the last time that was said.

Nico laughed right along with everyone else and smiled at Will.

"I still don't remember what I said to you that day," He said once everyone was quiet again. "All I know is what you've told me and you told me that I said I loved you. Well, it wasn't a lie then and it still isn't. I love you, Will Solace, even when I hate you. I love you when I fall asleep at night and I love you even more when I wake the next morning. You're beautiful, handsome, I mean. I love you." Nico was blushing a bright red and Will kissed him once more in response.

The kiss probably would have lasted longer, but Clarisse had a track record to uphold. She, along with the Ares cabin and Nico's friends, lifted the two and carried them all the way to the lake. The boys clung to each other the entire time, smiling like idiots, until they were thrown into the water.


End file.
